Textile fiber sorter



Nov. 3, 1959 v. P. MOORE ET AL TEXTILE FIBER SORTER Filed 00f. so, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS R MOORE SHEPHERD VERNON JACOB V.

A'I'TORNEIYS Nov. 3, 1959 v. P. MOORE ET AL TEXTILE FIBER SORTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 30. 1956 FIG.4.

INVENTORS VERNON P. MOORE JACOB V. SHEPHERD ATTORNEYS United States Patent TEXTILE FIBER SORTER Vern-on P. Moore, West Leland, and Jacob V. Shepherd, Leland, Miss.

Application October 30, 1956, Serial No. 619,360 2 Claims. (Cl. '19-65) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see. 266) A non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free license in the invention herein described, throughout the world for all purposes of the United States Government, with the power to grant sublicenses for such purposes, is hereby granted to the Government of the United States of Amerlea.

The patent rights for the United States in any invention in the patent to be granted on this application are dedicated to the public. This invention relates to a textile fiber sorter for separating textile fibers, particularly cotton fibers, according to length.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the textile fiber sorter;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the sorter;

Figure 3 is a view along the line 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a three-dimensional view of one of the screens forming part of the sorter.

Referring with particularity to the drawing, the textile fiber sorter is provided with a feed mechanism comprising a feed table 11, a feed roll 12, and a feed plate 13, all coacting to feed a mass of textile fibers of varying lengths to a toothed cylinder 14, rotating at a predetermined constant speed which combs and individualizes the fibers, the foregoing described structures being driven by a motor :5 in czonjunction with belted drives a shown in Figures and The fibers are thereafter doffed from the toothed cylinder by an air stream, preferably a suction of constant magnitude, generated, for example, by a fan or blower 16, and are carried along in the air stream into adjoining expansion chamber 17 where the velocity of the air stream is reduced. The reason for such reduction of velocity is based on the fact that each of the fibers in the air stream tends to align itself so that its longest axis is at right angles to the direction of the air movement, but if the air velocity of the air stream carrying the fibers is too high the air becomes turbulent and the fibers will tend to tangle and curl. Therefore, the slower the air movement the less will be the difiiculty of turbulence. Also a higher velocity is required to doif the fibers from cylinder 14 than is required to convey them to the adjoining screen compartment 20, and unless the velocity is reduced, the air would tend to pull more of the long fibers through the coarse screens onto the subsequent finer mesh screens of the series of screens which are contained in the said screen compartment.

From the expansion chamber 17, which serves as a conduit, the air stream carrying the dolfed fibers is directed toward and passes into the adjoining screen compartment 20 where the fibers contact a series of screens contained therein and are caused to collect thereon according to fiber length and the air passes therethrough. The screens, while otherwise substantially identical, differ from each other only in the size of their openings which vary from coarse to fine in the order contacted by the fibers. Thus, as the fibers contact the screens, the long fibers will be retained and collect on the coarse screens While the shorter fibers pass through to a finer mesh and collect thereon. The last screen in the series is of sufficient fine mesh to retain and collect the extremely short fibers.

Each of the screens is similarly removably mounted in the screen compartment and, accordingly, only one such screen and mounting will be described. Screen 21 has a top portion which forms the screen cover 22.. The screen is slidably fitted into a slot 23 and a slot 24 in the opposite sides 25 and 26 of the screen compartment respectively, these slots matching with a slot 27 in the bottom 28 thereof. The screen is removable from the slots by means of a handle 29 on the top thereof. A bracing spacer 30 is also provided, being positioned across the top of the screen compartment and lying tightly in the space between the screen covers of adjacent screens. Thus, when all the screens and spacers are in place, the screen compartment is rendered airtight. In this connection, it will be noted that the screen is not mounted in the center of the screen cover. This was done to provide sufficient clearance between the back of the screen and the adjacent spacer 30 immediately to the rear thereof to prevent the spacer from dragging fibers from the screen when it is removed for cleaning, since the fibers tend to adhere closely to the front of the screen but stream out behind it, thus requiring more clearance on the back side.

The screen compartment 20 is joined to the pipe of the fan 16 through an adapter section 35.

As an example of using the sorter, a weighed sample of cotton fibers is fed to the cylinder 14, dotted therefrom, passed through chamber 17 and then through the screens on which they collect according to length. The fibers are then removed from each screen, weighed, and the percentage of fibers in each length group calculated.

What is claimed is:

1. A textile fiber sorter for separating textile fibers according to length comprising a rotatable toothed cylinder for combing a mass of textile fibers of varying lengths, means for feeding said mass of fibers to said cylinder, means for generating a stream of air which dofts the combed fibers from the cylinder, a series: of screens of varying mesh size ranging from coarse to fine, and a conduit for directing the air and the dofifed fibers toward said screens whereby the fibers are caused to collect on the various screens according to fiber length and the air is caused to pass therethrough.

2. A textile fiber sorter for separating textile fibers according to length comprising a rotatable toothed cylinder for combing a mass of textile fibers of varying lengths, means for feeding said mass of fibers to said cylinder, means for generating a stream of air which dofis the combed fibers from the cylinder, a series of screens of varying mesh size ranging from coarse to fine, and a conduit for directing the air and the doffed fibers toward said screens whereby the fibers are caused to collect on the various screens according to fiber length and the air is caused to pass therethrough, said conduit reducing the velocity of the air stream carrying the dofied fibers before they are conveyed through the said screens.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,024,148 Ryan Apr. 23, 1912 1,574,384 Garner Feb. 23, 1926 2,002,974 Bennett et al May 28, 1935 2,648,876 Phillips et al. Aug. 18, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 11,126 Great Britain of 1906 

